A number of winding machines exists in the art which are specifically directed to winding threads or thread-like materials onto one or more cores or beams. In the knitting art, beaming machines such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,322, Gaiser, assigned to the present assignee, are capable of simultaneously winding multiple yarn ends onto elongated beams which are in turn used on Raschel-type knitting machines. Such machines by their very nature deal with very fine threads or yarn ends and typically wind a plurality of these yarn ends onto a single core or beam.
The present invention is directed to a problem which has persisted in the manufacture of elongated fabric bands which are commonly referred to as lace bands. In the manufacture of such lace bands, the material is produced on a fabric web having a width up to approximately 130 inches (330.2 centimeters). The individual lace bands are held together by draw threads positioned between the adjacent bands. The draw threads are designed for removal by conventional thread draw machines.
The separated lace bands typically have widths between one-half inch (1.26 centimeters) and 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). Although the individual lace bands can be removed from the full width of web, the web is typically divided into four or five web sections, each generally containing between 20 and 28 band strips. The web sections are usually sewn together end to end so as to lengthen the individual lace bands. Each individual band is then typically stored in a bin and hand wound onto a spool. The web length for Raschel-type lace is typically 125 yards (114.3 meters), so that four or five sections sewn together form a spool length of between approximately 400 to 500 yards (365.8 to 457.2 meters).
It has been determined that hand winding individual lace bands onto cores as distinguished from spools (cores with flanges on each end) does not normally yield the careful equal tension to the band which is required if the wound lace is to stay on the core without side support. Consequently, the typical hand winding of lace bands onto a core requires the use of end flanges for lateral support.
One prior art machine which has addressed the problem of lace band separation and winding is manufactured by Alfred Heitzman Machine Works, Inc., of Moonachie, N.J., United States of America. Their lace separating and multiple spooling machine first removes the draw threads so as to separate the lace bands. The separated lace bands are then brought to a spooling region where they are wound onto multiple spools. The lace guides used on this machine are mounted on separate arms which depend from one of a plurality of horizontally oriented rods. Each guide is oval in shape having a width approximately equal to the width of the lace band being wound. This particular machine therefore requires separate guides for different lace band widths and therefore the use of this machine when changing from one lace band width to another requires extensive down time. Furthermore, the lace bands are wound on cores having end flanges, wherein the flanges are used to rotate the cores. The flanges are turned by contacting rollers positioned beneath them with tensioning through slippage between the drive rollers and the flanges.
The present invention provides a multiple winding machine wherein a single type of lace band guide is used for all lace band widths ranging from approximately one-half inch (1.26 centimeters) to five inches (12.7 centimeters) which are commonly produced by Raschel-type knitting machines. Furthermore, very precise equal tensioning of the lace bands as they are wound onto cores is achieved by frictional transfer contact between the lace bands and one of the transfer rollers which turn at a constant angular (and therefore tangentional) speed. The constant tangentional speed provides equal tension to the lace bands since this speed is slightly greater than that of the squeeze rollers which pull the separated lace bands after draw thread separation.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a lace band separator detector which ascertains if any draw thread is not removed by the thread draw machine (typically due to breakage of the draw thread), and if so detected, causing the multiple winding machine to stop.